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02/05/13 Did you know that breastfeeding brings the baby a higher grade point average with better odds of attending college? The numbers have actually been crunched with each additional month of breastfeeding bringing an increase in high school GPA and an increase in the probability of college attendance. This is according to a new study published in the Journal of Human Capital. My input is that breastfeeding also organizes the infant brain when mommy switches breasts and rotates the baby from side to side. This helps the brain develop the eye and ears on each side evenly. Bottle feed a baby on one side only and you disorganize the brain.

02/04/13 Plastics with the chemical BPA carry the #7 recycling symbol and are called polycarbonate, lexan or polysulfone. BPA is a hormone disruptor that leaches out of products during everyday use to contaminate food and water - causing serious health problems. Scientific evidence shows that BPA causes developmental problems in fetuses and infants, early onset of puberty, genital deformities, Down Syndrome, disrupted reproductive cycles, physical damage to the brain and increased cancer rates. The Environmental Health Sciences researchers detected trace amounts of the estrogenizing BPA in a wide variety of paper products we touch every day, including toilet paper, paper towels, newspapers and business cards.

02/01/13 How you lose your virginity sets up life-long patterns. A study published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy looks at the circumstances around losing virginity and how it has lasting consequences on emotional and physical development. Researchers examined how first-time sexual satisfaction impacts long-term sexual function and emotional responses. Of course, those who felt loved and respected by their partner found later encounters more emotionally satisfying. A series of analyses revealed those who were most emotionally and physically satisfied the first time had the most fulfilling sex lives. Those who reported higher levels of anxiety and negativity with the first time reported lower overall sexual functioning. I personally think that you should first marry your true love and then experience sex - and stay put!

01/31/13 Did you know that lack of sleep brings on memory problems? This is especially true in seniors. Berkeley neuroscientists have found that certain brain waves generated during the deep, restorative sleep play a key role in transporting memories from the hippocampus to the prefrontal cortex, where long-term memories are stored. Memories can get stuck in the hippocampus with poor sleep, to be overwritten by new memories. These new findings shed light on some of the forgetfulness common to the elderly that includes difficulty remembering people's names.

01/30/13 A national study found that adolescents who get their first drink from a friend are more likely to drink sooner in life - making them more prone to abusing alcohol later. Seems that even in an alcoholic family, kids still get their first drink from a friend rather than a family member. The major predictors for alcohol abuse were, of course, the drinking peers first of all, followed by disruptive behaviors, a family history of alcohol dependence and a measure of poor social skills. Easy access to alcohol plays into juvenile drinking. My conclusion: Parents - be in control of yourself and your kids.

01/29/13 New Nanny State agenda: Now NY is rumored to be going after the “Happy Hour” and wants to ban it outright… But this isn’t exactly new-news as 19 other states currently ban happy hour specials in an attempt to reduce drinking and driving and alcohol abuse. But in New York City, most people don't drive yet the Department of Health is gone after yet another once-accepted social activity. Where does the control end? Require vaccines and ban happy hour... We are going backwards in this country peeps and are now the last in ranking of the 17 richest countries with the highest rates and earliest age of death - for all age groups. Time for a re-focus peeps.

01/28/13 Multitasking people are those who appear to be the least capable of multitasking effectively. Talking and driving? Not a good thing according to the University of Utah. Psychology Professor David Sanbonmatsu says: "Our data suggest the people talking on cell phones while driving are people who probably shouldn't. The key findings show that people who are the most capable of multitasking effectively tend not to multitask because they are better able to focus attention on the task at hand. The simple fact is that people multitask because they have difficulty focusing on one task at a time and get drawn into secondary tasks.

01/25/13 Slippery truth… 98% of Chinese and 84% of American parents lie to their children to promote positive feelings or to support belief in Santa Clause or the Tooth Fairy. According to UC San Diego, parents from the US and China use the slippery concept of 'truth' to their advantage - like to influence their children's eating habits, or to dissuade children's pleas for toys or treats when shopping. Sometimes parents even use a false threat to abandon a child who refuses to obey the parent while away from home. But previous studies show that when children are deciding whom to trust, they are sensitive to an adult’s history of honesty or lies with them personally making the parents who lie to their children more likely to undermine the child's sense of trust.

01/24/13 Expressing gratitude and giving to others are "pro-social" behaviors that are actually keys to our psychological well-being (AKA happiness), and our health. How we choose to spend our money also affects our health and happiness - and not just at the supermarket. Helping others is another biggie to psychological well-being and health. Children develop this helping one at a very young age and us adults should learn from them. Did you know that you can actually sleep to improve your happiness? Which comes first: lack of sleep or unhappiness? They actually co-exist and one improves the other when it comes to sleep and happiness.

01/23/13 Anyone remember melamine? It was the chemical that in China, 2008 that was found in melamine-tainted baby formula that killed six children and sickened 300,000 others. Company officials were executed over that one. Well, not in the good ole USA! Do you know where it is most common here? In you kids favorite plastic plate, bowl and cup. New evidence shows that this toxic plastic product transfers to the food when hot food is placed on/in the dishes or the plastic wares are nuked in a microwave. Melamine is carcinogenic in animal studies but apparently OK for humans?? Must be because nobody signed their child up for that cancer study… My advice: toss it out NOW and use ceramic or glass.

01/22/13 How thrilling is a kiss? Kissing is so much more than a quick thrill with a little bonding but kissing actually brings a range of health benefits. Kissing increases metabolism, boosts longevity and the chemicals released from a kiss heal can heal both physical and emotional “boo-boos”. Kissing also breaks down oral plaque and helps prevent cavities by stimulating saliva, which helps wash bacteria away from the tooth’s surface Kissing also builds your immunity as Dr. Varnado, one study author states.

01/21/13 Lower wages means higher blood pressure. Low wages has a very strong risk factor for older males and also for women between the ages of 25 to 44. J. Paul Leigh, professor of public health sciences at UC Davis says, "Our outcome shows that women and younger employees working at the lowest pay scales should be screened regularly for hypertension as well." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hypertension is a major contributor to heart disease and stroke, both of which are leading causes of death and disability.

01/18/13 Our tax dollars are hard at work to study and rediscover the rediscovery of the discovery - that we have known all along - that junk food causes a greater severity of allergic asthma, eczema, and rhinitis among children. This is according to a very recent and rather large study published in the respiratory journal Thorax. Three or more weekly servings of fast food were linked to a 39% increased risk of severe asthma among teens and a 27% increased risk among children, as well heightened severity of rhinitis and eczema, overall. On the other hand, fruit was protective and eating three or more weekly portions was linked to a reduction in symptoms of up to14%. If you are a parent and don’t know this without a study then you haven’t been paying attention…

01/17/13 Hard-hitting, pictorial graphic warnings on cigarette packages are more effective than text-only versions. A new study by the Harvard School of Public Health shows evidence that visually depicts the health consequences of smoking play is actually encouraging smokers to quit. The study authors note that text-only cigarette warnings are unlikely to be noticed or have an impact on smokers. DR Jennifer Cantrell says "The implementation of graphic warning labels appears to be one of the few tobacco control policies that have the potential to reduce communication inequalities across groups."

01/16/13 Good leaders fake it… The consensus to date has promoted the thinking that good leaders and managers are authentic, open and honest. Well, a new study shows us that things aren’t always what we perceive. Psychologist Chiara Amati, from Edinburgh Napier University thinks that in order to ensure a subordinate’s performance, managers and leaders need to manufacture positive and encouraging emotions and override any unhelpful, private thoughts. "Faking it seems, to a degree, to just be part of good people management," reported Chiara. ~ I vote for the open and honest to come back.

01/15/13 More than 145 million adult Americans are overweight or obese and despite this deadly obesity epidemic, patients are receiving weight counseling from their docs in only 6.2 percent of visits in recent years. Weight loss counseling declined by 41 percent and obesity as overweight Americans increased to 63.3% of the population. The problem isn’t limited to weight though as patients with high blood pressure were 46% percent and diabetes patients were 59% percent less likely to receive counseling. In other words, the evidence shows that docs are more interested in prescribing medications and really don’t know jack about real health matters like diet and lifestyle changes - or, they simply don’t care...

01/14/13 So we think we are so smart. You think that education and financial advantage would bring longer, healthier lives. But that is not the case as the average American dies sooner and goes through higher rates of disease than people in other high-income countries. Findings by the IOM report that this serious problem exists for all ages. Americans who have health insurance, college educations, higher incomes, and healthy behaviors are sicker and die sooner than their peers in other rich nations. Steven H. Woolf, at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond says: "…What concerns our panel is why, for decades, we have been slipping behind." - I guess they didn’t ask me why.

01/11/13 Everyone should know that the new CPR techniques DO NOT include respiration intervention. It is more effective and saves more lives to focus on the chest compressions to keep blood flowing to the brain. Just doing chest compressions helps exchange some oxygen in the lungs but if you stop pumping the chest to blow air into the victim, the blood pressure to the brain drops and you will lose the battle. Think you won’t ever have to do CPR? Chances are that you will eventually. http://www.heartrescuenow.com/

01/10/13 Cancer can feed on gluten and/or sugar. It takes something else to weaken the cells and accelerate the process though. Halides like fluorine, chlorine and bromine block the iodine pathways to weaken the body and the cells. In effect, they can "turn the thermostat down" and cause malfunction in enzyme process and a host of other metabolic functions and even cause catabolism in the body. In Chinese medicine they blame virus for cancer but I want to say that a virus cannot cause cancer without a catabolic turn of events.

01/09/13 5-second rule for germs: Want to know what the 3 germiest surfaces are to drop food on in the house? If you guessed carpets then you are close to right but they came in second and tiled floors are a close third. The surprise is that researchers named the germiest surface in the house to be the kitchen counters! That is the worst spot to drop food on and the one spot you REALLY don't want to eat something after it ends up there. Oh, and the 5-second rule does not hold true as germs are already invading the food the very instant they contact the surface

01/08/13 Physical activity can help prevent high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, serum lipid abnormalities and cardiovascular disease. That’s not just me talking, that’s the Yale School of Medicine, who found that less than 25% of US adults reported walking or bicycling for transportation for more than 10 minutes in a typical week. People who engage in active transportation have lower body mass indexes and lower odds of hypertension, compared to those who didn't. But the U.S. has one of the lowest rates of active transportation in the world - and the highest obesity rates to show for it.

01/07/13 The IQ was created by Alfred Binet in 1900 and has been used to evaluate abilities in logical-mathematical and linguistic skills ever since. It is often used as a recruiting and career advancement tool and as a guiding foundation for the entire US school system. There are many talents that cannot be measured by a formula for Math and English acuity. Genius and IQ should never be confused as genius is more than mental intelligence. Genius begins with a passion that results in actions that often break perceived - and even “acceptable” limits. 12 genius qualities not measured by IQ tests are: curiosity, playfulness, imagination, creativity, wonder, wisdom, inventiveness, vitality, sensitivity, flexibility, humor, and joy.

01/04/13 Verbal aggression has now been linked to the ratio of length between the pointer finger and the ring finger. The State University of New York, University of Tennessee, Michigan State University in a new study, related smaller ratio of length between these two digits, the higher the verbal aggression in the study participants. This means that the closer the two digits are in length, the more verbally aggressive the person is. Some degree of verbal aggression can be beneficial when standing up for yourself if attacked but higher degrees of verbal aggression can be very detrimental to one's personal life, causing problems with personal relationships, loss of job and etc.

01/03/13 Too much is just as bad as too little when it comes to knee exercise and use. Nearly one out of two people in the U.S. may now develop knee osteoarthritis by age 85, according to the CDC and by the year 2030, an estimated 67 million Americans over the age of 18 will have physician-diagnosed arthritis. You can reduce the risk for cartilage degeneration in the knees by maintaining a healthy weight, healthy diet and avoiding strenuous, high-impact exercise. Lower impact sports, such as walking or swimming, are more beneficial in people at risk for osteoarthritis.

01/02/13 Recently, an older gentleman was driving in Florida and had a bad accident that injured someone else. The person who was injured sued the driver as well as the driver's doctor. The argument was that the man who was driving had shown some intellectual impairment and the doctor could have reported him to have his license revoked - but didn’t. Legally, doctors do not have an obligation to report people who they suspect to be intellectually impaired, or suffer memory, vision, or hearing problems. Any family member, doctor or concerned citizen can report problems to the Department of Motor Vehicles and it then becomes the DMVs problem to decide whether the person in question should be on the road.

12/31/12 Abused children are at a higher risk of anxiety and mood disorders. Scientists have now found that traumatic experience changes gene regulation. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry documented genetic variants of the FKBP5 gene that cause epigenetic alterations induced by early trauma. This frequently leads to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety disorders in adulthood. Torsten Klengel, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, explains: "Depending on genetic predisposition, childhood trauma can leave permanent epigenetic marks on the DNA… The consequence is a permanent dysregulation of the victim's stress hormone system, which can ultimately lead to psychiatric illness.”

12/28/12 Perfect practice makes perfect: Making a fire escape plan and then practicing it at least twice a year is good emergency preparedness. Make it as realistic as possible, like practicing in the middle of the night. Of course, warn everyone beforehand and teach everyone to stay low to the floor and quickly crawl out of the house while avoiding breathing smoke. Do you need an escape ladder for a first-floor window? Does a child or elderly person require assistance to escape? The more you practice, the less likely you’ll panic and become injured if your home catches fire. Never return for pets, escape first and call for them through a door or window.

12/27/12 Simultaneous use of different forms of media at the same time, like playing a computer game while texting and watching TV, is now definitely linked to anxiety and depression. Michigan State University found a clear association between media multitasking and mental health problems. Overall media use among American youth increased 20% in the last ten years but the amount of media multitasking has jumped 120% percent during the same period. Instead of learning our lesson, I’m sure that most Americans will sit on their duffs and wait for Big Pharma to find a new drug to specifically overcome the deleterious effects of media multitasking...

12/26/12 Kids simply need more sleep than adults. For most kids, just a little bit of extra sleep (27 minutes on average), can really help improve behavior, focus, and restlessness. Researchers took kids between the ages of 7 and 11 and either got them up about one hour early or let them sleep in an extra hour each day. The kids with less sleep were cranky, hyper, impulsive, and had shorter attention spans in school. The kids with the extra sleep improved in all those areas. According to WebMD, ages 3-12 need 10 to 12 hours of shut-eye a night.

12/24/12 High intake of calcium and iron are associated with greater odds of glaucoma according the University of California, San Francisco. This is for the supplement takers as higher dietary intake of calcium and iron brought decreased odds for developing glaucoma. The senior study author, Shan C. Lin, MD, says "We think dietary rather than supplementary intake of iron and calcium may be absorbed differently, in different forms, or act in biologically different ways." You think? You will find all the bio-available calcium and iron you need by eating a diet high in fresh, organic veggies.

12/21/12 A burst of moderate exercise will enhance the consolidation of memories in adults according to new research. Most of what I report is about the benefits of a long-term exercise on health and cognitive function with age, but in a recent study, researchers had people exercise on a stationary bicycle for six minutes. One hour later the participants were given a surprise recall test on previously viewed images. The results in the exercise group as compared to non-exercise found a striking enhancement of memory in both healthy and cognitively impaired adults.

12/20/12 Pesticides have significant negative impacts on children. Young children detoxify toxins at a much slower rate than adults. Epidemiologic evidence show strong associations between childhood exposure to pesticides and decreased cognitive function, behavioral problems and even pediatric cancers. The New Haven CT group, Environment and Human Health, worked to get laws passed to ban pesticides on fields and lawns of schools in 2010. But, in their willingness to sacrifice children for pristine lawns, a coalition of athletic directors, golf course superintendents and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities sent a letter to the state urging them to weaken the laws. I guess they just don’t get it…

12/19/12 The average American child over 8 years old watches an average of 4.5 hours of TV each day according to the latest from Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Seventy percent of these kiddos even have a TV in the bedroom and one out of three children over 6 years old is considered obese. TV viewing time during childhood usually continues into adulthood, as does the obesity. This investigative team established the relationship between having and watching TV in the bedroom and childhood obesity. A child having a TV in the bedroom also increased viewing times and tummy circumference. Big surprise? Not to me…

12/18/12 PD causes ED: Inflamed gums causes erectile dysfunction (ED) in men in their thirties. The dysfunction is brought on by severe periodontal disease (PD) caused predominantly by bacteria occurring with inflammation of the gums. Men with PD are three times more likely to suffer from erection problems, according to a new study which showed that 53 per cent of the men with erectile dysfunction had inflamed gums. Other physical factors that cause ED are problems with the blood vessels and psychological issues like emotional stress and depression.

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